The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

To address muscle injury repair, 3D printing enables patient specific scaffolds and guided myotube alignment. However, methacrylate conjugated gelatin (GelMA), despite its photo crosslinkability and cell adhesive properties, requires high polymer concentrations because of low viscosity and weak mechanical strength and exhibits limited tissue adhesion for on muscle printing. Here, we present a printable and bioadhesive hydrogel ink, termed PBAink, based on alginate tethered with phenylborate and methacrylate at a low polymer concentration. PBAink exhibits a storage modulus comparable to muscle tissue and undergoes rapid photo crosslinking under blue light. By optimizing buffer salt concentration, cis diol phenylborate interactions were enhanced, improving ink cohesion and printing fidelity. Compared to AlMA and GelMA, PBAink showed superior tissue adhesion, enabling direct on muscle printing, conformal integration, increased cell density, and enhanced F actin coverage.